First Assembly Christian School has hired Doug Abernathy as its new football coach, the school announced Wednesday.
Abernathy, a 1994 graduate of FACS, replaces former coach Mitch McDaniel, who left for St. Benedict after four seasons with the Crusaders. Abernathy served as the school’s middle school coach for the past four years.
“After an extensive review of excellent candidates, we believe that Coach Abernathy is a familiar face and will lead us into the future,” said Head of School Dr. Bryan Sanders in the release. “He loves this school, he believes in this school, and after a year of many coaching changes, stability and familiarity were something we wanted for our athletes.”
Abernathy has nearly three decades of coaching experience, including his time with FACS’ middle school team, according to the release. After playing at Memphis under coach Philip Spain, he served as an assistant for six years.
“To say that this is my dream job is an understatement, but ultimately it’s about the opportunity to coach these particular young men,” Abernathy said in the release. “Coaching is a ministry to me. I know I have a small window to impact the lives of these young men, and it’s an honor to use football as that avenue.”
FACS finished 3-7 last season and made an appearance in the first round of the Division II-A playoffs under McDaniel, who was announced as St. Benedict’s coach on March 18.
The 2023 season was FACS’ best in recent years, finishing with a 9-3 record and a trip to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
Abernathy said he wants to build on the program’s existing foundation and play a brand of football centered on discipline and balance across all three phases of the game.
“The philosophy of our program is to build a disciplined football team that does not commit penalties and does not turn the ball over,”…
Source link : https://www.commercialappeal.com/story/sports/high-school/2025/04/10/doug-abernathy-hired-facs-football-coach-doug-abernathy-tssaa/83030650007/
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Publish date : 2025-04-10 20:14:00
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